This invention relates to an apparatus for preparing heated food products, and more particularly to an apparatus for preparing and dispensing individual portions of a fried potato product prepared from dehydrated potatoes that are rehydrated immediately prior to frying and dispensing. Various types of devices and methods have been disclosed for preparing hot food products from dehydrated food products that are reconstituted by adding water, formed, and then cooked or fried to provide the desired product. The co-pending application of which the present application is a continuation-in-part discloses an apparatus and a method for preparing a french fried potato product that is shaped from a dough prepared in the apparatus by rehydrating dehydrated potatoes. The dehydrated potatoes are reconstituted in situ to provide a dough that can be formed in the desired shape, and then fried and dispensed. The apparatus therein disclosed is an individual portion machine, which can also be used as a vending machine, to accomplish those purposes and to permit the preparation of fried potato products in restaurants, industrial and school cafeterias, and the like, as well as wherever vending machines are installed.
The present invention is an improvement over the apparatus disclosed in the parent application, and provides a product that closely resembles french fried potatoes that have been prepared by frying cut raw potatoes, the resemblance extending to the taste, the appearance, and the texture of the resulting product. In the method and apparatus disclosed in the parent application, it was necessary that a portion of a premixed potato patty be provided in a mixing chamber to serve as a base for the subsequently prepared dough, and it was therefore necessary that a portion of dough be retained in the apparatus for later use as a base after one or more orders had been processed and dispensed. Additionally, the apparatus and method of the parent application also involved the continuous heating of the frying oil in order to have the apparatus in condition for immediate preparation and dispensing of the desired product, and without requiring an unduly lengthy warm-up time. The present invention is directed to improvements in the apparatus and method disclosed in the parent application.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for preparing and dispensing a fried food product in which each individual portion is separately prepared, and without the need for retaining reconstituted product as an intermediate product in the apparatus to serve as a base for the preparation of a subsequent portion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for preparing a fried food product in which deterioration of the frying oil is minimized.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus in the form of a vending machine for preparing a fried food product for immediate dispensing.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for preparing a fried food product for dispensing in a dispensing machine and in which product residues that remain after a dispensing operation are minimized in order to maintain high sanitation levels.